Rylan Allen

Max

Rylan is thrilled to be part of the MAWAM team and to bring this touching, hilarious show to life. Hailing from Hamilton, Ontario, he graduated from Sheridan College’s Musical Theatre Program and performed with Canadiana Productions Inc. in Niagara as a performer, dance captain, and choreographer until lockdown. During that time, he discovered a passion for teaching, working as a Music Director for Hamilton’s Conservatory for the Arts. Favorite roles include Peter in Jesus Christ Superstar (Brott Music Festival), Noel Gruder in Ride the Cyclone (Playhouse Collective), and Monsieur André in Phantom of the Opera (Theatre Sheridan). Rylan thanks his mentors for sharing their toolboxes with him, the MAWAM team for this incredible experience, and his friends and family for their unwavering support.

Émile Auger

Aaron

Émile is a multidisciplinary performer and teacher from Montréal. He began his artistic journey in the music and jazz band program at St-Luc High School. He went on to study musical theatre at Collège Lionel-Groulx’s professional theatre program and graduated in the spring of 2022. In 2023, he completed his third and final semester in musical theatre at Sheridan College, Ontario. His performance credits include Jazz Noisette (Les Jeunesses Musicales du Canada), Lucky Stiff (Stephenville Theatre Festival), Rock of Ages (STF), Let’s Bop! (Terra Bruce Productions) and Lorenzo Sterzi’s latest film, Cadavre Exquis (LostandKik Pictures). Émile is thrilled to make his Segal Center debut as part of this original musical theatre production.

Patrick Park

Mason

Patrick Park is a triple threat performer from Montréal, Québec. Notable credits include the 25th Anniversary National Tour of Mamma Mia!, KPOP (Broadway, Circle in the Square), the North American premiere of Mythic, and the world premiere of Prom Queen/The Louder We Get (Segal Centre). Patrick is also a member of the Montreal based dance group, East2West which has earned a following of over 1 million subscribers on YouTube.

Nathaniel Bacon

Jesse

Nathaniel Bacon is a Toronto theatre star and Canadian film and television actor with a long and diverse resume. Some of his TV highlights include appearances on The Expanse, Shadowhunters, Saving Hope, Reign, The Kids In The Hall and a recent guest starring role on Murdoch Mysteries. His film credits include the Jason Momoa movie Debug as well as the Denise Richards family film Wickensburg and it’s sequel Return To Wickensburg. Nathaniel is a long-time collaborator of Sky Gilbert’s, originating lead roles in 4 of his plays. In 2015, he won Best Actor (musical) at the Broadway World Toronto Awards for starring in Hedwig And The Angry Inch (Lower Ossington Theatre). And in 2023, he became an ACTRA Award nominee for his work on the series Pink Is In. Nathaniel is thrilled to be here, making his Montreal debut.

Trevor Barrette

Producer / Director / Book, Music & Lyrics

Trevor Barrette is a queer theatre maker based in Montreal, known for his kaleidoscopic productions and joy-forward storytelling. A graduate of John Abbott College’s Professional Theatre program, he founded the award-winning KaleidoscopeMTL, producing and directing ten productions, including the hit Fringe musical Captain Aurora and the immersive Memento Mori. Trevor's work explores dynamic timescapes, ensemble casting, and enchanting worlds that foster a sense of wonder. Directorial highlights include The Sages of Chelm and The Great Divide for the Dora Wasserman Yiddish Theatre at the Segal Centre, as well as serving as assistant director for Les Belles Soeurs at the Stratford Festival. Trevor has performed with institutions such as the National Arts Centre, Centaur Theatre, Segal Centre, Geordie Theatre and teaches at the Segal Centre Academy and Geordie Theatre School. Currently, he is developing new works, including a musical inspired by Dr. Brenda Milner’s legacy. This July, he will direct Hudson Village Theatre’s presentation of Bed and Breakfast.

Jonathan Patterson

Associate Producer / Music Director / Choreographer

Based in Montréal, Jonathan is a multidisciplinary artist whose work spans from theatre to opera to musicals.

Music direction credits include: Once Upon a Mattress, Lucky Stiff, You're a Good Man, Charlie Brown (NTS), Cabaret (assoc. music dir., NTS), Million Dollar Quartet (TIP/STC).

Selected choreography credits include: The World Goes ’Round, Rodgers + Hammerstein’s Cinderella (Opera McGill), A Bintel Brief (DWYT), The Producers (DWYT/CLSDS), Last Night at the Gayety (Centaur), Bluenose (Black Theatre Workshop); The Rocky Horror Show (IYFE).

A performing-arts educator, Jonathan has been on the faculty of Opera McGill at the Schulich School of Music since 2010, serving as Acting Director of Opera Studies in 2015 and 2017. Jonathan is also the Head of Music at the National Theatre School of Canada (NTS), provides choreography for the award-winning Lyric Theatre Singers, and has a very busy private voice studio. 

Upcoming: Bed and Breakfast (Drew, Hudson Village Theatre).

Cara Rebecca

Intimacy Director

Cara is a queer artist and administrator whose creative practice spans acting, movement, fight and intimacy direction, and teaching.

Recent fight and intimacy credits: Trident Moon (Crows/NAC), Sakura (Centaur), POTUS (Segal), and The Flood (Imago).

Select Acting Credits: Still Life, Antioch (Talisman); The Importance of Being Earnest, A Midsummer Night’s Dream (St Lawrence); Fall On Your Knees (CanStage / Neptune / NAC / Grand); Cowgirl Up (ATP). 

Cara also co-founded the Ragtag Collective.

Training: NTS (Acting and Movement for Actors Apprenticeship), Academy of Dramatic Combat, CGDC Mentorship, and McGill.

Thank you to my friends and chosen family who motivate, challenge, and catch me with love when I need it most.

Lior Maharjan

Assistant Director

Lior Maharjan is an award-winning interdisciplinary artist based in Canada and working internationally. Among other things, her practice entails performing; writing for theatre, television and film, as well as essays; directing; mentoring; and producing.

Visit liormaharjan.com to learn more about her work and projects.

Fatma Sarah Elkashef

Dramaturge

Sarah is a dramaturg, educator, and Artistic Director of Playwrights’ Workshop Montréal (PWM). Born in the U.K. to Egyptian and Dutch parents, she has been based in Tiohtià:ke/Montreal since 2010 after living and working in New York City for over a decade. Curious about process and development across performance disciplines, Sarah founded PWM’s Interdisciplinary Writers’ Lab to explore non-text based approaches to creation. At the National Theatre School of Canada, she has worked as a dramaturg and teacher since 2012.

David Noël

Additional French Text

David Noël is an actor-singer-translator who graduated from the National Theatre School of Canada in 2022.

Theatre credits include: Jules and Joséphine (Théâtre Advienne que pourra), L’ombre (National Arts Centre/Théâtre du Rideau Vert), Quand je ne dis rien, je pense encore (Théâtre de Quat’sous), Dracula: A Comedy of Terrors (Segal Centre), Pool (No Water) (Persephone Productions), Private Lives (Hudson Village Theatre), City Boy (MainLine), A Song of Fiction (CETM), Captain Aurora II: A New Dawn (Kaleidoscope Theatre Montreal), Peter Pan (Salle Sylvain-Lelièvre), Sweeney Todd, Les Misérables (Le Capitole de Québec).

TV credits include: 30 vies, Toi et moi, 19-2, O’, Temps d’un Chien, Sans Rendez-Vous, Sorcières, L’Indétectable.

Film: Le jour où le dromadaire est parti, The Mother Eagle, Montreal Dead End.

In 2023, he translated i/O by Dominique Leclerc during the 2023 edition of FTA – Festival TransAmériques.

Luce Bélanger

Original Arrangements & Orchestrations

Luce Bélanger is a Montreal-based composer, arranger, singer, and pianist known for her versatility. In addition to performing with various jazz ensembles and a cappella groups (Luce Bélanger Trio, Jazz Affair, VoxA4), she has been involved in the worlds of theatre and dance for over a decade. She had her first experience as a musical and vocal director in 2012 for Iphigénie en auto (La Vierge Folle). She composed and performed the musical score for Mange-moi in 2014 and 2015 (Nadère Arts Vivants). In 2016, she was co-musical director and pianist for Captain Aurora II (Kaleidoscope Theatre) and revisited the project in 2020 with updated arrangements. In recent years, Luce has focused primarily on choral music, creating numerous choral arrangements and serving as the conductor of Ensemble Vocal Extravaganza since 2023 and Kör Vocal Ensemble since 2024.

Chris Barillaro

New Piano/Vocal Arrangements

Chris Barillaro is a Montreal-based music director, pianist, orchestrator, actor, singer, magician, and graduate of McGill University (B.A. in music and theatre). Over the past two decades, Chris has had the honour of helping to develop many new musicals—in both of Canada’s official languages—as an MD and/or orchestrator/arranger.

Selected new musicals include: Our Little Secret; In Real Life; Belles Soeurs; Dixon Road; La Corriveau: La soif des corbeaux; La Géante; Belmont; You Are Here; Senza Luce; Captain Aurora: A New Dawn; To Be: In Concert; and his own musical, which he co-wrote with Lisa Forget, Danny Boy.

In 2018, Chris received a Félix at the Gala ADISQ in the category of “Spectacle: Interprète” for Demain matin, Montréal m’attend and in 2019, he received a Dora Mavor Moore Award for outstanding music direction for Kiss of the Spider Woman.

Chris would like to thank Trevor for bringing him along on the ride!

Bruno-Pierre Houle

Set Designer

Bruno-Pierre Houle designs for theater, film, and immersive experiences.

Theater: Our Little Secret, Small Mouth Sounds; Superdogs: The Musical; Josephine: A Musical Cabaret (Segal Centre),  Sinkhole, or six ways to disappear, Extra/Beautiful/U; Dominoes at the Crossroads (Infinitheatre), The Great Divide (Dora Wasserman Yiddish Theatre); Selfie (Geordie), Le Loup (Duceppe), Proje(c)t; Les Bonnes (Third Space Theatre), Chattermarks (Cabal), You/Emma (Wandering Bark Theatre Co.), Title Loading (Fusebox Festival), Die Zauberflöte (Butler Opera Center), Fit (Notch Theatre Co.)

Film: Pas d’chicane dans ma cabane (Forum Films), Sarah préfère la course (La boîte à Fanny inc.), My Name is Sandy (Iammatteo Pictures)

Other: Petite Plage Concert (Ingrid St-Pierre at Théâtre Outremont), Unravelling (Never Apart) and multiple escape games.

Awards: META’s Outstanding Set Design for Small Mouth Sounds.

Web: www.bphoule.com

Georges Michael Fanfan

Costume Designer

Georges Michael Fanfan is a META Award-winning costume designer and stylist born in Haiti and based in Montreal. Having been devoted to fashion since he was little, he has always seen clothing as the perfect tool for communication and storytelling. Michael aspires to build beautiful garments that can immerse individuals in a given place; by creating looks from different periods, new clothes from scratch and modifying current trends. Michael hopes to birth pieces that are grounded in realism with subtle references that allow them to stand out and blend in. 

His credits include Providencia (La Parcera), Dixon Road (The Musical Stage Company; Obsidian Theatre), Diggers (Black Theatre Workshop), Every Day She Rose (Black Theatre Workshop) and Dominoes at the Crossroads (Infinitheatre).

Julia Carrier

Assistant Set & Costume Designer

Julia is a queer theatre artist from Montréal who graduated from John Abbott College's Professional Theatre Design program in 2023. Julia has had the chance to work on Imago Theatre and Geordie Theatre's co-production of The Wolves in the fall of 2024 as their set designer, and of being Apprentice Stage Manager on the Segal 2024 production of Fifteen Dogs. Working as an Assistant Costume and Set Designer on Max + Aaron Write a Musical will be an amazing opportunity for them to delve back into design and learn from more experienced designers.

Aurora Torok

Lighting Designer

Aurora Torok is a queer and hard-of-hearing (using hearing aids) artist currently living on Tio'tia:ke (Montréal). Her experience in the live arts is primarily in theatre after graduating from the National Theatre School of Canada in Production Design and Technical Arts, as well as from Concordia University with a BFA - Specialization in Design for the Theatre. Other disciplines include contemporary dance, outdoor art installations, comedy and visual arts. Aurora was nominated for Outstanding Contribution to Theatre by the METAs in 2022.

Eric Elliot Lee

Sound Designer / Additional Music

Eric Elliot Lee is a Montreal-based Composer, Lyricist, Music Director, and fledgling Sound Designer. Though specializing in music composition and music preparation, Eric is thrilled to be returning to Max and Aaron’s musical world as Sound Designer.

Eric spends most of his time at the Segal Centre and the National Theatre School helping kids and young adults unlock the deeper potential of their voices or turn a whacky idea into a full-fledged musical.

Past show highlights include: One Day (Music Director, Trevor Barrette), A Curious Life (Music Director, Trevor Barrette), Be More Chill (Music Director, Penumbra Theatre), Amélie (Music Director, Penumbra Theatre), Jesus Hopped the A Train (Sound Designer, House of Actors).

Coming up, Eric will be joining the team at the Banff Arts Centre as a Music Librarian for The Handmaid’s Tale opera adaptation in June 2025.

You can find more at ericelliotlee.ca

Margandy McKinnell

Production Manager & Technical Director

Morgandy is a freelance Stage Manager and Production Manager based in Montreal. She has worked on over 20 productions across theatre, dance, and immersive experiences. She specializes in new works, collective creations, and musicals.

Select Montreal credits: Foxfinder (Imago Theatre) and Pipeline (Black Theatre Workshop).

Select UK credits include: Happy Birthday Peter Rabbit (Old Laundry Theatre), Lines (Sheffield Theatres), and Mayflies (York Theatre Royal).

In 2022, she expanded her practice to include production management alongside her stage management work. She has worked as a Production Manager for the Just for Laughs festival and the Leeds 2023 Year of Culture.

Ava Bishop

Stage Manager

Ava Bishop  is an Equity Stage Manager based in Montréal. She is eager to work on engaging and innovative theatre pieces throughout Canada, and is proud to be a part of the rich Montréal theatre scene. She is a graduate of the National Theatre School of Canada’s Production Design and Technical Arts program.

Selected SM/ASM Credits: Strawberries in January (Centaur Theatre), Three Women of Swatow (Centaur Theatre), POTUS (Segal Centre), Still Life (Talisman Theatre), Sky Dancers (A’nó:wara Dance Theatre), Sapientia (Scapegoat Carnivale), Josephine: A Musical Cabaret (Segal Centre), Counter Offence (Teesri Duniya Theatre), Wildfire (Talisman Theatre), Dracula A Comedy of Terrors (Segal Centre), Pool (No Water) (Persephone Productions), Legacy (Magjusjen Entertainment), April Fools (Segal Centre), Black and Blue Matters (Black Theatre Workshop), Jonathan: A Seagull Parable (Geordie Theatre / Surreal SoReal), The Future Is Another Country (Boulouki Theatre), Legends of Country (Stage West Theatre), Law of the Land (Caravan Farm Theatre).

Abi Sanie

Assistant Stage Manager

Abi Sanie is a director, stage manager, educator, and theatre maker currently based in Tiohtià:ke/Montréal. As a graduate of Concordia University's Theatre program with a specialization in Performance Creation, Abi's work focuses on queerness, protest, love, and liberation. Their work is also grounded in their Moroccan Jewish identity, existence as a neurodivergent artist, and experience as a first generation American. Abi is also a proud Puppeteer at the Bread and Puppet Theater in Vermont, Artistic Director of Dense and Stage Theatre, and an emerging Intimacy Professional. She is so grateful to be surrounded by beautiful collaborators in her work, and hopes to be a continued facilitator for artistic expression and joy in her community.